Comment: Telephones are a vital way of connecting people. They magically connect two different spaces at the same time. In the prison context, they enable prisoners to maintain regular connections with people outside. However, the current system doesn’t always work, a problem highlighted in the Prison Inspectorate’s most recent report on Christchurch Men's Prison.

The report noted there are too few telephones. The lack of privacy for telephone conversations in crowded units was also observed. But perhaps the most significant finding was that gang members dominated telephone use. This meant some prisoners couldn’t access a phone and “nobody dared to complain about the issue to staff”.

Such problems are not new. This is because of a fundamental dilemma of space and time. Phones in most New Zealand prisons are in communal areas, and prisoners need to be out of their cells and not at work to access them. The period when this occurs each day can be very short. Sometimes—when prisoners are in their cells all day—there’s no time at all.

The specific time of day also matters. A recurring problem is prisoners only having access to communal telephones when family members they want to call are at work or their children are in school. When there are 30 to 50 prisoners sharing one or two telephones, as the Prison Inspectorate has previously reported the problems are significantly exacerbated.

Yet telephone access is the most important connection to the outside world for prisoners.

This is because phone calls can be more frequent than in-person visits, particularly if prisoners are located far from home. Telephone calls are also a better mode of communication for the 60 percent of New Zealand prisoners with low literacy levels and can help incarcerated parents communicate with their young children who don’t have sophisticated writing and reading skills.

So why should we care about this?

Strengthening prisoners’ family ties reduces recidivism and telephone calls best enable frequent and immediate contact with family. While British research found supporting in-person visits reduced recidivism by 39 percent, an American study of 255 high-risk women prisoners found telephone calls could also play a significant role in reducing reoffending. The study, which looked specifically at the impact of phone calls, concluded: “Women who reported having phone contact with a family member during this incarceration were significantly less likely to be reincarcerated within five years post-release than women who did not report family phone contact.”

Additionally, increased telephone access might improve the prison environment for both staff and prisoners. Conflict over communal telephones has led to tension and bullying in some prisons. Research has also found a link between telephone access and prisoner behaviour. A 2006 study of data from 280 American prisons concluded the social support provided from telephone calls reduced prison rule violations, while visits and mail did not. Reducing prison violence and tension was one reason that in-cell telephones were installed in Irish and French prisons.

Overseas experience has also credited in-cell telephones with improved prison operations and security, including reduced contraband mobile phones, reduced need for prison escorts, and preventing extortion attempts related to prisoners overhearing others’ telephone conversations.

Installing in-cell telephones is likewise important because this will provide better support for prisoners with mental health needs. A 2016 study found 91 percent of New Zealand prisoners had a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health or substance use disorder—62 percent had this diagnosis in the past 12 months, three times more than the general population. In addition to providing the regular support of family and friends, in-cell telephones provide 24-hour access to mental health and addiction help lines. There is potential here for this to prevent prisoner suicide and self-harming.

Telephones in prison cells are becoming the norm in countries such as England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Belgium. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisoners in the UK both welcomed this. In New Zealand, only the Serco-run Auckland South Corrections Facility has in-cell telephones, which the Ombudsman has supported.

Some people might find the idea of in-cell telephones too liberal a move. However, such a change would not affect current processes requiring telephone numbers to be approved or prisoners’ phone calls to be recorded and monitored.

Instead, this change would enable prisoners to be part of the everyday lives of their whānau—for example, to help their children with homework questions and support their partners with day-to-day family decisions.

Prison is known to create problems such as institutionalisation and to challenge pro-social behaviour. Improving the quantity and quality of phone access for prisoners to maintain their family connections and support can lessen these difficulties and increase the likelihood of successful transition and reintegration back in the community.

This article was originally published on Newsroom.

Christine McCarthy is a senior lecturer in the School of Architecture at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, where her research includes prison architecture. She is a former president of the Wellington Howard League for Penal Reform (2018-20) and currently has a petition before Parliament to increase prisoners' access to telephone.